1721 in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1721 in South Africa.

← 1720 1719 1718 1721 in South Africa → 1722 1723 1724
Decades:
See also:	List of years in South Africa

Incumbents

• Governor of the Cape Colony - Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes ^{[1] [2]}

Events

• The VOC sends soldiers aboard the Gouda and Zeelandia to occupy Rio de Lagoa, or Delagoa Bay. ^[3] At this time, the Tembe chiefdom controlled trade. ^[4]
• Johan Cornelis d'Ableing, former acting Governor of the Cape, dies.
• Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes is promoted from Cape Colony Governor to Justice of India. ^[5]
• Nicolaus Laubscher, founder of Oranjezicht, dies. ^{[6] [7]}
• A slave trading operation is established in Rio de Lagoa, where the VOC trade about 25 slaves annually. ^[8]
• Elephant herds disappeared from the Delagoa region, affecting the VOC ivory trade.
• Drought severely affects South East African gardening efforts, with temperatures too high and no consistent rainy season.
• The first barrel of blue beads arrives at Delagoa Bay for trade.
• Ivory is withheld until Dutch ships are prepared to leave, as the locals are suspecting a secret bead stash.
• There is a high mortality rate at the VOC post in Delagoa, as two-thirds of the 620 men die in six weeks.

References

1. "Intro (African) to the Resolutions of Cape of Good Hope / VOC-bevelvoerders aan die Kaap die Goeie Hoop". 2005-03-24. Archived from the original on 24 March 2005. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
2. Rosenthal, Eric, Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Juta and Company Limited, Cape Town and Johannesburg, 1978.
3. "General South African History Timeline: 1700s | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
4. Chewins, Linell (February 2025). "TRADE AT DELAGOA BAY: THE INFLUENCE OF TRADE ON POLITICAL STRUCTURES, 1721-1799". University of the Witwatersrand : 2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 26, 29, 37, 38, 39, 78, 83, 87, 93, 100, 101, 103, 104, 113, 120, 140, 145, 147 – via History Department.
5. "Governor Mauritz Pasque de Chavonnes and the First Military Uniforms at the Cape".
6. Adolphe Linder, The Swiss at the Cape of Good Hope, 1652–1971 (Basel: Basel Afrika Bibliographien, 1997), pp. 64–69.
7. Pieter van Breda's dates from C. C. de Villiers, Geslagsregisters van die ou Kaapse families / Genealogies of Old South African Families, rev. ed. by C. Pama, 3 vols. (Cape Town: Balkema, 1966), 1: 96.
8. "History of slavery and early colonisation in South Africa | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 2025-03-05.